Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili

It’s one of my favorite unofficial days of the year: the first chili recipe! This Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili made with canned beans, sweet potato, quinoa, and a rainbow of southwest spices is more than deserving of this year’s #1 spot. It’s rich and hearty, strikes an ideal balance between spicy and sweet, and, thanks to the Instant Pot, cooks in minutes instead of hours.

If a single recipe concept could be extended to an entire food group, chili would have my top vote. With all of its delicious potential and recipe variations, from Crock Pot White Chicken Chili to Healthy Turkey Chili to Paleo Chili (another Instant Pot chili recipe), it’s a meal I never grow tired of creating or eating.

Chili can feed a crowd if you need it to and tastes fabulous leftover if you don’t, and it’s also perfectly poised to serve as a vehicle for a) your daily serving of veg and b) TOPPINGS.

Although this is a recipe for Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili, it is plenty hearty enough to stand on its own as a full meal. Depending upon your topping selections, this is actually an easy vegan chili (just leave off the dairy), BUT its robust blend of spices and rich, thick texture will satisfy the more carnivorous members of your family too.

The base of this vegan chili recipe is one of my personal favorite chili recipes of all time and the one I made most often, my Slow Cooker Sweet Potato Quinoa Chili. Like that original chili recipe, its complex, cooked-all-day flavor hails from one of my secret spice weapons, chipotle chili powder. Chipotle gives the Instant Pot Veggie Chili a touch of smokiness, and this spice in particular is a dream pairing with the natural sugars in the sweet potatoes.

In addition to the black beans and quinoa present in my original slow cooker chili, I also added red beans. They add an extra layer of texture and additional protein and fiber, and they ensure that even though this chili is vegetarian, it’s just as satisfying as its meat counterparts.

Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili—An All in One Healthy Meal

As I discovered when I first made Instant Pot Chili (<—this recipe is an excellent option if you are looking for easy Instant Pot chili recipe with veggies but absolutely must have meat too), an added benefit of making chili in the Instant Pot or a similar electric pressure cooker is the fact that thanks to the sauté function, 100% of the recipe comes together in one pot. You don’t need cook any of the aromatics or even the quinoa separately.

(This is the Instant Pot I own, by the way. I’ve had it for more than a year now and love it more each time I use it. It’s also been on sale recently, so if you are on the fence, that’s a great reason to go for it! Easy Instant Pot chili is also another great reason, just sayin’. 😉 I even have 15 Healthy Instant Pot Recipes to get you inspired!)

To make the best veggie chili in the Instant Pot, start by sautéing the onions, spices, and sweet potatoes. Add the liquid. Set it. Walk away.

This is prime time to tidy the kitchen and pour yourself some wine, but don’t wander far.After just 8 minutes of pressure cooking, your quinoa will be perfectly cooked, the sweet potatoes tender, and the Instant Pot Vegetarian Chili ready for its finishing touches.

Or in my case, its finishing smothering. Greek yogurt, avocado, chips, cheese, cilantro! When it comes to chili toppings, I will take them all, please and thank you.

For serving:

Sliced avocado

Chopped fresh cilantro

Shredded cheese

Crushed tortilla chips

Nonfat plain Greek yogurt or sour cream

Instructions

To a 6-quart or large Instant Pot, add the olive oil. Turn to SAUTE and let the oil heat. Once the oil is hot, add the onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, bell pepper, garlic, chili powder, chipotle chili powder, cumin, and kosher salt. Cook for 1 to 2 additional minutes, until the garlic is fragrant.

Add half of the vegetable broth and stir, scraping up any stuck-on bits of food (this will prevent a burn warning). Stir in the remaining broth and the quinoa. Pour the tomato sauce on top (do not stir again).

Cover and seal the Instant Pot. Cook on manual (HIGH) pressure for 8 minutes. Immediately release the pressure. Carefully open the Instant Pot.

Turn the Instant Pot to OFF. Stir in the black beans, kidney beans, and sugar. Place the lid back on top and let stand 10 minutes to thicken. Uncover. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired. Serve hot, with any and all the toppings!

We love chili and I like the fact that it’s such an adaptable recipe – you can put almost anything you like into it. To me it’s “the burrito of soups” – you can add anything! While I don’t have an Instant Pot, this still sounds like a recipe I could easily make on the stove. Hope you’re managing to get your new house put together. It can seem so daunting – we moved here 8 years ago and we doubled the size. Fortunately we have tons of storage space but still purging before making the move was helpful. Just had to be brutal and never look back! Anyway, Teddy certainly looks happy – such a cutie he is.

I am trying to introduce my children to more vegetarian options. Can I substitute one of the red peppers for frozen or fresh corn? And if so, would I add the corn in the beginning or at the end with the beans? I am looking forward to trying this recipe. Thank you in advance for the help. Joy

Hi Elizabeth, the yields are slightly different in the two recipes, plus there is more evaporation happening in the slow cooker. If you’re interested in using the slow cooker instead, I’d suggest referencing that recipe to know what liquid ratio to use!

Erin, I am a Instapot Newbie, am gingerly tiptoeing my way. I bought your instapot too, but when you say cook on HIGH, that instapot control panel really doesn’t have a lo/hi setting. What would you suggest I do? Thanks!

Darlene, if you select “pressure cook” there should be a separate “+” button elsewhere on the machine that indicates high. That’s what you want to use. I hope that helps and you can always reference the manual too!

Thank you for this wonderful recipe! I made it once on the stove-top and loved it. While I love it as is, I am trying to turn some meat loving chili freaks into vegetarians and want to add even more flavor. So, what do you think about adding a can of beer? This is an adaption from your Slow Cooker Turkey Quinoa Chili, which includes beer. Is there any reason you didn’t bring it to the veggie version? I would very much appreciate your advice.

I made this last night and reviewed on Yummly. EXCELLENT recipe. I wouldn’t change a single thing. I agree that the smoked chipotle powder kicks it up a notch. This is my first time making one of your recipes but if they’re all this good, I’m in!! Which of your recipes should I make next?

Bad news: Had to clean the pot twice because it kept scorching and the pot wouldn’t come to pressure. Ultimately decided to finish the chili with the saute function. Not sure why the pot wouldn’t come to pressure and/or why it kept scorching (read online that scorching can keep pot from coming to pressure). I kept the total amount of liquid the same, but used half beer and half broth. If you’ve got any ideas, I would love to hear them.

FYI I ordered some new seal rings this evening (it’s been 12+ months since I’ve replaced mine so this could be why the pot wasn’t coming to pressure). Just to be on the safe side.

Either way, thank you for posting this. Because the flavor is so good, I will def try it again and see if it works out.

Hi Jill, stuck on bits at the bottom usually do affect the pot coming to pressure. Unfortunately I don’t have any further insights, but I’m glad to hear you still enjoyed the chili! Good luck next time!

This was fabulous. My vegetarian son loved it, as did the omnivores. It was a bit spicy for my heat averse mother-in-law, but she still proclaimed it delicious. My son loved the addition of the sweet potatoes. He said it added a neat texture and a more complex flavor profile. The quinoa gave the chili a nice meatiness. Thank you for this recipe. I’ll be making it again and again.

I made this today for the staff at my workplace. It took 10 minutes to cut up all of the veggies in advance. I couldn’t find chilli powder so I used a taco mix. I doubled the recipe so it took 15 min to seal and I added 2 min to the time for cooking. I added 2 cans each of beans and a bag of frozen roasted corn from TJs. I ran out of time so I served it right away with with tortilla chips, cheese, and sour cream. It was so well received! Thank you!!

Hi Taylor, the sweet potatoes should be soft and cooked after the 8 minutes of pressure. If they’re still hard, they may be larger pieces than the ones I used and need extra time. I hope you enjoy the chili!

Jan 2 and I’m beginning my “lower your cholesterol challenge!” This recipe looks perfect and our new instapot is already a hit. Love quinoa but reading about using barley as a better grain for my goals. How do you think that would work as a sub? Thx

I really enjoyed this. I didn’t have the chipotle chili powder so I just left it out. I combined orange and red peppers and subbed out the kidney beans for chickpeas as I don’t like kidney beans. I put it on a baked potato for supper and topped it with cheese and corn. Overall it was quite filling. I’ll probably make this again. Nice recipe and true to the times as well. Thanks! Greg

And it turned out amazing! I love a ton of veggies and crunchy stuff in my chili, and I can’t believe that everything got cooked perfectly while retaining a bit of crunch. Instant Pots are amazing, but this recipe is even more so! I will definitely make it again!

Haha! Thanks Erin. Great recipe! I was busy converting the cups to grams, I’m in the UK and read yellow onion as yellow pepper! Another slight difference yellow onion is a white onion in UK – I guess?!

Hi Erin. Thank you for this marvelous recipe! Do you have any suggestions for substitutes for the quinoa please, eg Jasmine rice, steel cut oats or other suggestions? I would like to try your recipe but I am missing the quinoa. Thanks much!

I followed this recipe as closely as I was able. I’m terrible at that because I’m a creative cook myself but I managed pretty darn close. I did sub a couple canned chipotles in adobo for the chipotle chilli powder. My 4 kids ages 5-13 declared it deliscious and I’d definitely eat it again. We served as suggested with a little grated cheese and cilantro and a small handful of tortilla chips per bowl and had enough for a modest serving for dinner as well as hearty lunches for all without doubling the recipe.

Great question, Christie! I like to use low sodium so I can better control the final saltiness in the recipe. If you already have products that aren’t low sodium, you could probably use them and cut back on the kosher salt called for in the recipe. That way you can taste at the end and add more salt if needed rather than end up with a too-salty chili. I hope that helps!

Hi Natalie, I have not tried the recipe using dried beans, but I would guess that more liquid would be needed. As I haven’t tested it that way, I’m afraid I don’t have any specific recommendations to give. The chili would also need more time to cook if using dried beans, and I fear that the veggies in the chili would turn to mush if cooked longer.

May just be the best vegan chili I have ever had. I doubled the recipe but discovered, after I put all the potatoes and peppers in, that my pot would not accept that much/ so did it in 2 batches – adding about a quarter cup more of quinoa in the second batch. It’s an amazing recipe and for those of you who might balk at the sweetness of the sweet potatoes, I recommend adding a ‘hot’ element to it.

I have a three quart insta pot and should have cut the recipe in half. I did not – it barely fit, but came out excellent. For the leftovers plan on dicing up and tossing in some Field Roast veggie dogs.

Hi Donna! The timing and liquid level would probably differ since this recipe uses cooked beans and not uncooked. The veggies would likely get overcooked in the longer time it would take. I have not attempted the recipe with dried beans, so I’m afraid I don’t have any further specifics to recommend. If you decide to experiment with the recipe, I’d love to hear how it goes.

I’ve had my eye on this recipe for a few weeks and finally got the courage to use my instapot. I followed the recipe exactly as written and it turned out so well! We loved the spice and the sweet potatoes cooked perfectly. Can’t wait to make it again. Thank you!

Thanks, Erin For the easy to follow instant pot recipe. The recipe was follow as written. It’s healthy and fulfilling. I added a side of saute spinach, for greenery. Please tell me where there are more of your healthy recipes can be found.

Hi Mamie! I’m glad you enjoyed the chili. Most all of my recipes could be considered healthy, but you can take a look at specific types of recipes in my recipe index here: https://wellplated.com/recipe-index/

Yum! This was my first time making chili in my instapot. I have my own veggie chili recipe that I love to make, but I wasn’t sure how to make it in my instapot. So although I made a bunch of changes/additions to follow my own recipe (no quinoa, no broth, no sweet potatoes. Added celery, carrots, and a jalapeno. Added other spices too), I used the same cooking settings and times – it turned out great! Thank you! Definitely going to try it with sweet potato next time :)

Delicious! Sadly, my sweet potatoes turned to mush with cooking the chilli for 8 mins. I cut them as per the instructions and maybe next time I will reduce the cooking time or cut the potatoes even bigger! I also added more chilli powder and some smoked paprika. Loved how the quinoa helped to thicken the chilli too. Thank you!

Wow!! I absolutely loved this recipe. I’ve been experimenting with a ton of chili recipes and this one is by far the best vegetarian rendition. It has a great meaty texture without the meat.

Instead of the chipotle chili powder I bumped up the cumin and chili powder and also added in 2 Serrano peppers and a jalapeño pepper for a strong kick. I also added a can of diced tomatoes since they’re always my fav part of chili.

My roommate had me send her the recipe she also loved it so much too. Thank you!!!

I don’t usually leave reviews, but this came out soooooo good! I followed the directions exactly, except I left out the sugar. I don’t think it needed the sugar as it was sweet enough with the sweet potatoes. I did use all the recommended toppings and it was absolutely delicious.

This recipe looks great! I am new to the instant pot and I will be making this recipe for a potluck to be served at lunch during an all-day event.. Do you think it would work to make the chili through step 3 the night before, and then refrigerate it in insert and then add beans and sugar in the morning and put insert back in and put on warm for a few hours? Thanks!

Hi Susannah! I have not tried this method, so I can’t say whether or not it would turn out the same. My suggestion is to fully cook the chili, and then freeze the amount you want to take to the potluck. You could try adding the portion back into the Instant Pot on warm the morning of the potluck so that the chili is nice and hot by the time you serve it. I hope you this helps and that you enjoy the recipe!

This is delicious!! I made a few minor swaps. I used pinto beans instead of kidney beans, smoked paprika in place of the chipotle powder, omitted the sugar (was sweet enough), and added cooked brown rice at the end, instead of quinoa. I will definitely make this again with the quinoa. Thanks for the recipe!

Hi Rachel! The timing and liquid level would probably differ since this recipe uses cooked beans and not uncooked. The veggies would likely get overcooked in the longer time it would take. I have not attempted the recipe with dried beans, so I’m afraid I don’t have any further specifics to recommend. If you decide to experiment with the recipe, I’d love to hear how it goes.